Windshield wiper



Dec. 4, 1951 E. c. HORTON WINDSHIELD WIPER Filed Jul 16,

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ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 4, 1951 UNITE-D PATENT OFFICE 2,517,125" ""s'iii ELD WIPER Erwin- G.-' I Iorton,-= Hamburg N} Yl, assignor to TriceProducts- Gorporation,Bufialo, N. Y.

Application Jay-1'6;- 1946, seriai No. 683-;864 4 Glaimse (o1. Is -2'53? inventionrelates to the windshield-' cleaii mean and is an: improve'iiiiei'it -omthe depending appncatioa of John R: Oishei 'filed A'ugiist 21-,

1944, Serial No. 550,327; new Patent 2572750,

(3ctober'23; 1951. In such copehdirig application there-is disclosed 'apair of wiper' actuating shafts connected to anoscillatory drive shaft-byan endless fiexible transmission suitably guidedoi er supporting pulleys.-

' The' object of the present inve'riti'onistdpro v'ide'a windshield cleaner'of-this gen'e'r' More particularly, the reciprocatory' motio anism" interposed between the transmission and a continuously rotating drive.

The invention further has forit'sobject to provide a simplified windshield cleaner mechanism of durable design and one whichwillprovide for- Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the simplified arrangement of the-present invention? Fig. '2 isan elevation of' the' iiiotion converter;

Fig. 3 is'a cross sectional view "through the converter;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary illustration depicting more particularly the cowl for the windshield wiper actuating arm; and

Fig. 5 is a cross sectional view through a modified form of motion converter.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral I designates an actuating arm for the wiping blade of a windshield cleaner, the arm being pivotally mounted at 2 on a mounting section 3 which is fixed on the oscillatory shaft 4 finding journal support in a housing 5. The housing is disposed on the cowl 6 at the base of the windshield I and embodies a drum 8 about which takes an endless cable 9, the cable reaches passing downwardly through an opening In in the cowl and under guide pulleys I I and I2. The guide pulleys I2 are suitably mounted on the passengers side of a fire wall I3 and at opposite sides of a drive shaft I4 which has a crank part I5 connected to one of the reaches I6 of the endless transmission cable. The crank'part I5 is provided at its outer end with a rotatably mounted bracket I! which has an opening Ila through which the reach portion I6 extends, the latter being fixed arran e-- ment and type wherein the fiexible-transmissioiiis g iven reciprocable motionin aun'ique manner.-

imparted by means of a motion convertin rri'eeri 2 bya-set screw I8. From the foregoing'it' will be" apparent' tha'tas the shaft I i-and itscrank I5 rotate continuously in one direction, the reach iii'will be reciprocated back and forth. In this" 1 connection it will be observed that-the pulleys I2 are spaceda considerable distance on op'po' sitesides of the crank shaft M; which fact'-will* permit the crank to rotate without subjecting the cable-to undue strain-or tension.

The cran'k shaft It may be rotated continu ouslyrin one direction by'suitable means such as an electric motor I9" which is mounted: on-the' engine or outer side of the fire wall and has its shaft provided with a worm 2|" that is in- 1 5: meshing: relation with-a" worm gear 22*fixedto the crank shaft. This Worm transmissionmay be suitably enclosed-in a dust proof housing 23 Which'hasa-chamber 2 4" for holding ab'a'th of lubricantdn which the worm I and warm gear Will 9- operate.

The continuous rotation of the crankshaft i l will the-reforeimp'a'rt'rhythmic reciprocatory mo-'" tion the" endless" transmission cable so as'to'= efiectoscillationof the wiperactuating shaft 4" 25 and its arm I.

desired; the "shaft may beextendetl, as at In"; =th10figh the} opposite side of the housing 231" to mount a -sec'ond crank I5 whichdn turn is provided with'a bracket-"or clamp ll for engagcoinpanion' reacld '2 5* of the endless 1 cable? Thus constructed; tli'e twd crank arms I Wand I5 will be connected to the opposite sides of the endless transmission cable and will concurrently pull upon such opposite side portions of the cable as the crank shaft continues to rotate. In this embodiment the motor may be mounted on the inner side of the fire wall, or one cable flight may be disposed on the opposite side of the wall from the other. Th two cable flights I5 and 25 will be tied together by the crank shaft at a point intermediate the pairs of supporting pulleys i2. This modified arrangement will reduce to a minimum any stretching of the cable and will maintain the wiper motion free of substantial back lash or lost motion.

To facilitate the installation the bracket or clamp I! (ll) may be provided with a laterally extending entranceway 26 leading to the cable receiving opening Ila. This will enable the motion converting unit 202d being placed or removed without disturbing the pulley mounted fiexible transmission, and vice versa.

The foregoing description has been given in detail for clarity and ease of understanding the inventive concept Which may obviously be incorporated in other physical embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A windshield cleaner comprising spaced wiper shafts, an endless cable operatively connecting the two shafts for oscillating the same, said endless cable having opposite side portions placed in adjacency, and a continuously rotating crank shaft having spaced cranks each connected with a respective side portion of the cable to pull such two side portions simultaneously but in opposite directions. 7

2. In a motor vehicle construction having a windshield and an underlying firewall separat-- ing the engine compartment from" the passenger compartment, spaced windshield cleaner mechanisms each including a wiper actuating shaft journaled adjacent the windshield, a driving crank shaft journaled adjacent the fire wall and having a crank part revolving continuously about the crank shaft axis and formed with a cable receiving seat, a flexible power transmitting cable operatively connected to the wiper shafts and having a part stretched between the latter and received by the seat of the crank shaft for oscillating the two connected wipers, cable supporting means arranged on the fire wall between the crank shaft and each wiper shaft to support and guide the stretched cablev part as it is actuated by the crank shaft, and means detachably securing the stretched cable part to the seat whereby the crank shaft may be removably placed in its operative position adjacent the fire wall while maintaining a fixed relation between the cable connected wipers.

3. In a motor vehicle construction having a windshield and an underlying firewall separating the engine compartment from the passenger compartment, spaced windshield cleanermecham'sms each including a wiper actuating shaft journaled adjacent the windshield, a driving crank shaft journaled adjacent the fire wall and having spaced crank parts revolving COIItiD'Ll-u connected wipers, cable supporting means arranged on the fire wall between the crank shaft and each wiper shaft to support and guide the stretched cable parts as it is actuated by the crank shaft, and means detachably securing the stretched cable parts to the seat whereby the crank shaft may be removably placed in its operative position adjacent the fire wall while maintaining a fixed relation between the cable connected wipers. V

4. In a motor vehicle construction having a windshield and an underlying fire wall separating the engine compartment from the passenger compartment, spaced windshield cleaner mechanisms each including a wiper actuating shaft journaled adjacent the windshield, a driving crank shaft-journaled adjacent the fire wall and having a crank part revolving continuously about the crank shaft axis and formed with a cable receiving seat, flexible power transmitting cable means operatively connecting the wiper shafts and having spaced parts stretched between the latter with one cable part being received by the,

seat of the crank shaft for oscillating the two connected wipers, cable supporting means arranged on the fire wall between the crank shaft and each wiper shaft to support and guide the stretched cable parts and to enable said one cable part flexing laterally back and forth in accommodation of the rotating crank part as actuated by the crank shaft, and means detachably securing the stretched cable parts to the seat whereby the crank shaft may be removably placed in its operative position adjacent the fire wall while maintaining a fixed relation between the cable connected wipers.

ERWIN C. HORTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 

